The Smart Board works like a resistive touch screen. This means it has two screens separated by a field of air. When something presses into the first layer it pushes through the air and touches the screen behind it. That second screen has sensors that find the exact point where you touch.
If your board is aligned correctly this should correspond to the point you have placed your finger.
It can be very awkward to stand in front of the projector and use the board. Half of your image can disappear as you block it coming from the projector. There is no easy way to stand in front of the projector with this happening. Some chose to stand to the side and reach across, moving from one side to the other to reach both sides. It is important to get comfortable with the system by practicing with it.
Your finger is the mouse. Where ever you drag it across the board the mouse cursor on the computer follows. Double pressing an icon on the desktop works the same as using the left click button on the physical mouse. You can activate the right button options by either holding your finger on the board for 5 seconds or by pressing the right click button on the pen tray (see below).
The board is very durable. This does not mean you should use it as a white board. Pen and ink stains can be very difficult to remove. Simple Green and Windex have been noted as working very well in removing pen and ink stains. Use a soft cloth or paper towel. Do not use anything abrasive, such as a sponge or Magic Eraser. Any damage done to the surface may make it non-operational. It is best not to draw on the board with any actual ink markers.
The boards on rolling stands can be lowered so that shorter users can access them. Do not have a student stand on a chair to operate the board. Those connected to the wall cannot be lowered. Whenever you lower the board you have to reorient it. Always use two people to lower the board.
The Pen Tray
At the base of all Smart Boards is the Smart Pen Tray.
There is nothing smart about the pens. They are just pieces of rubber and plastic shaped like dry erase markers. They will not draw on anything or leave any ink behind. Because of this any item of comparable size can be placed in the tray and used as a Smart Pen.
When the pen is in the light above it (1.) is dark. When removed the light (1.) is lit and the sensor (2.) underneath is uncovered. If you lose your markers you can replace it with any other type of marker or even wooden dowel to cover the sensor.
The board reads which pen/eraser was picked up last and uses that as the dominant color. So if you pick up red then pick up green, green will be the color you draw on the board, even if you are writing with the red pen. You must always remember to put down the eraser when writing. If you don't, even a pen in hand will erase whatever is on the board.
The eraser like the pens has no real use, do not use it to erase any ink. The ink can soak into the eraser and leave streaks on the Smart Board.
The pen tray has three buttons located in the middle of the tray.
The first button activates the On-Screen Keyboard:
The Keyboard is fine for typing in the occasional website or small sentence but it is not advisable for large pieces of text. There are six different keyboards all accessible from the drop down menu on the left hand side of the keyboard box.
Classic - This is the traditional QWERTY keyboard
Number Pad - This represents the usual 1-9 keypad found on the right hand side of most keyboards
Write - This keypad presents you row of lines that you can fill in with a pen and the Smart Board software will decode your handwriting and place the letters or numbers on the page.
Shortcut - This is a smaller version of the Write keypad that lets you write with the pen but also has a group of shortcut buttons to give you more options
Simple - This is a ABCDE keypad with numbers that is all in lowercase.
Simple Caps - Same as Simple but all the letters are capitalized
The settings button on the keyboard allows you to make changes to the keyboard such as adjusting its transparency, size and sound.
The next button on the pen tray is the Right Click button. This button works just like the right click on a regular desk mouse. Whenever you want to right click an item on the desktop place the cursor over the item then press the button. You can also hold your finger over the item while pressing the board for 3-5 seconds to activate right click.
The final button is the help button. When pressed this brings up the help screen.
Each icon is a link to a different section for help.
Smart Board Basic Continued
The Smart Board
The Smart Board works like a resistive touch screen. This means it has two screens separated by a field of air. When something presses into the first layer it pushes through the air and touches the screen behind it. That second screen has sensors that find the exact point where you touch.If your board is aligned correctly this should correspond to the point you have placed your finger.
It can be very awkward to stand in front of the projector and use the board. Half of your image can disappear as you block it coming from the projector. There is no easy way to stand in front of the projector with this happening. Some chose to stand to the side and reach across, moving from one side to the other to reach both sides. It is important to get comfortable with the system by practicing with it.
Your finger is the mouse. Where ever you drag it across the board the mouse cursor on the computer follows. Double pressing an icon on the desktop works the same as using the left click button on the physical mouse. You can activate the right button options by either holding your finger on the board for 5 seconds or by pressing the right click button on the pen tray (see below).
The board is very durable. This does not mean you should use it as a white board. Pen and ink stains can be very difficult to remove. Simple Green and Windex have been noted as working very well in removing pen and ink stains. Use a soft cloth or paper towel. Do not use anything abrasive, such as a sponge or Magic Eraser. Any damage done to the surface may make it non-operational. It is best not to draw on the board with any actual ink markers.
The boards on rolling stands can be lowered so that shorter users can access them. Do not have a student stand on a chair to operate the board. Those connected to the wall cannot be lowered. Whenever you lower the board you have to reorient it. Always use two people to lower the board.
The Pen Tray
At the base of all Smart Boards is the Smart Pen Tray.There is nothing smart about the pens. They are just pieces of rubber and plastic shaped like dry erase markers. They will not draw on anything or leave any ink behind. Because of this any item of comparable size can be placed in the tray and used as a Smart Pen.
When the pen is in the light above it (1.) is dark. When removed the light (1.) is lit and the sensor (2.) underneath is uncovered. If you lose your markers you can replace it with any other type of marker or even wooden dowel to cover the sensor.
The board reads which pen/eraser was picked up last and uses that as the dominant color. So if you pick up red then pick up green, green will be the color you draw on the board, even if you are writing with the red pen. You must always remember to put down the eraser when writing. If you don't, even a pen in hand will erase whatever is on the board.
The eraser like the pens has no real use, do not use it to erase any ink. The ink can soak into the eraser and leave streaks on the Smart Board.
The pen tray has three buttons located in the middle of the tray.
The first button activates the On-Screen Keyboard:
The Keyboard is fine for typing in the occasional website or small sentence but it is not advisable for large pieces of text. There are six different keyboards all accessible from the drop down menu on the left hand side of the keyboard box.
The settings button on the keyboard allows you to make changes to the keyboard such as adjusting its transparency, size and sound.
The next button on the pen tray is the Right Click button. This button works just like the right click on a regular desk mouse. Whenever you want to right click an item on the desktop place the cursor over the item then press the button. You can also hold your finger over the item while pressing the board for 3-5 seconds to activate right click.
The final button is the help button. When pressed this brings up the help screen.
Each icon is a link to a different section for help.
Prev: Set up
Next: Ink Aware Applications